My grandfather was a conservative, strict disciplinarian. His life had a set schedule. He used to walk exactly 6 rounds at the apartment everyday. He read the newspaper for at least for an hour, and any day he felt it insufficient, he would read it again in the evening. He had a set diet and had not touched a pickle in the 35 years since he had been diagnosed with high BP (which I found pretty shocking as a kid, knowing that my granny used to make the yummiest spicy pickles that I was so fond of). This attitude I feel was definitely reflected in how he brought up his kids. He was a 'tough love' person, who would never get cuddly but everyone respected him immensely nevertheless. To his grandkids, he was never a disciplinarian, but a silent supporter to have on your side. Again, it wasn't a cuddly thing, but you knew you could count on him to convince your dad of anything. One of the best things I cherish about him was how he ignited the absolute love for books in me and my sister. We had a library card shared by the three of us where we would discuss every month which ones to get. Typically we would get two books that was the maximum limit for a month (this was way back in early 2000s) and all of us would take turns to read it. This was how we got introduced to the likes of Mary Higgins Clark and James Headley Chase. As a result, I find myself reading a book or two of MHC now and then although I don't read much of this genre. It's a silent ode to the man who is probably reading the newspaper somewhere in heaven and scolding 'those bastards'.

Love you, Thatha.

Oh, I almost forgot about the book I was reviewing. Well, this plot isn't as thrilling as some of the others. I think MHC is sometimes carried away with preaching a lot of things and in the end having to make the good people have nice things, the bad people not AND tying a big nice bow to finish the storyline. Book could be sleeker. Lots of characters blah blah. Following up was little difficult. Only redeeming quality was I didn't guess the culprit until almost 85% of the book. It's just okay.